"Are you quite certain?" Derek asked as Xavier stared at the chess board. "I rather thought you enjoyed our games."
Xavier couldn't meet Derek's gaze, he was exhausted. It felt as if he'd been playing chess and suffering mind wrenching pain for years though he knew it couldn't have been that long. "I find I cannot enjoy our games as I once did. Seeing those I love damaged time and time again rather takes the fun out of a 'game'." He replied.
Derek leaned back in his chair and watched Xavier with a sly smile. Xavier noticed. "What is it you're after Derek. We've been playing this game for a long time and I'm heartily sick of it."
"You've always know what I'm after Xavier. I want to know where the mutants are. Especially that abomination Donella." Derek said her name as if it were the foulest of curses.
"You've never liked your sister have you?" Xavier asked.
Derek snorted dismissively. "I spent nearly thirteen years as an only child. I never needed or wanted a sibling, rather I was content to have my parents attentions to myself then my dratted mother had to go and decide that she wanted another child. I wasn't enough for them. She charmed them effortlessly from the moment she was born and continued to do so, even when it became blatantly apparent she was a monster."
"You're parents didn't care that she was a mutant?"
"Not at all. If anything they were confused as to why I wasn't. It was so thrilling for them to have such a 'special child' in their family. They turned a blind eye to the mistakes, the occasional rain-showers indoors and the suffocated pets." Derek stopped talking for a moment then smirked at Xavier. "You're more clever than people realize Xavier. I realize I must sound like the jealous brother. Well I am but it goes beyond that."
"What did she do that was so horrific?" Xavier asked easily slipping into his usual role of the confidant.
Derek thought about it for a moment. "I suppose I could have forgiven her stealing the hearts of my parents with her oh so charming ways. I could have forgiven the dead pets and the hurricane at our grandfathers funeral. Then she turned to heroine to cope with our parents demands. And they were demanding, of both of us. We were to be the best at anything they set us to. Regardless of our own wishes but I never minded. She didn't either but for all her charm she was never quite able to measure up. So she began taking drugs. Ritalin to focus her mind at first then that began to fail her so she kept moving up the drug chain until she got hooked on heroine. I didn't really care what she was doing so long as she didn't embarrass me." Derek paused for a long moment then continued.
"I brought my fiances over for a visit. Donella was back from a short stint in rehab and we thought she was getting better. Until her concentration snapped while she was alone with my fiance. She sucked the air right out of Desiree. Sucked the life from her then ran. She couldn't face any of us. We got an apology letter. A letter, nothing further. My parents were mad with worry and I was desperate with grief for the woman I loved and all we got was a letter. My parents bankrupted themselves looking for her then she comes waltzing in four years later with some scrawny fellow announcing she's married and clean. As if that made everything alright. And do you know, my parents welcomed her back into the family. I left after that. Oh I sent cards and phoned in but I never went home, not until after my parents died."
Xavier felt stunned. Donella had told him some of what her life had been like but there were parts of her she wouldn't, or couldn't talk about. A guilty secret she kept buried so deep even he couldn't see it. "So you see Xavier. That's why you're here. I'm going to take you away the way Desiree was taken. And then I'll keep taking until there's nothing left for her."
Xavier looked down at the chess board and saw Donella on her knees sobbing, hiding her face from the other pieces on the board and from him. He had a sudden epiphany and with a casual flick he sent the wheelchair toppling. "Checkmate Derek. If you meant this to shock me it did but if you think it will keep me from loving her you are gravely mistaken."
It took but a simple act of will on Xavier part to leave the chess room behind and wake in the Haven infirmary.
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Donella jerked awake. She sat bolt upright in bed and stared wildly around the room. The reason for her sudden wakefulness was not immediately apparent to her but she couldn't seem to stop the racing of her heart. Her mind frantically raced as she tried to figure out what had woken her. Acting on a hunch she pulled her robe on over the black tank-top and night pants she wore. She slid her feet into the soft ballet slippers she wore around the apartment and raced out of the apartment and to the infirmary. She just knew something was wrong with Charles. She ran with adrenalin driven speed praying nothing was fatally wrong with him. She skidded to a stop in front of the infirmary and punched in the access code. It denied her access and she tried to steady her trembling fingers. The code failed again. A third time she tried and a third time it failed. "Damn it Jean! Why'd you change the code!" She snarled knowing full well why Jean would change the code.
She backed up a little and became the cool night air with a thought and slipped in under the door. "Note to self kick Jeans ass." She muttered after becoming solid again.
She ran to Xavier's bedside. He was still there, his eyes still closed, the monitors hadn't changed and she couldn't for the life of her understand why she'd been so very worried that something had happened to him. "Gods something is wrong with me." She murmured sitting beside him trying to calm her racing heart and fluttering nerves.
She reached out and stroked his forehead as she'd done so often in the past. She loved sitting on his bed facing him and just talking to him, even if he couldn't hear her. "I must have had a nightmare Charles." She murmured. "I only hope you aren't having nightmares, where ever your mind has gone I hope its a happy place."
She took his hand in hers and kissed it gently. "Oh but I miss you my love. Everything is so much bigger than I thought it would be. So much more serious. and I don't know that I'm up to the task you left for me any more. Do you remember? Of course you do. You never seem to forget. I had a funny run in yesterday. Rogue and Storm are pregnant, I told you about that a few days ago, anyway, they've been having cravings and I just don't know how to tell them that we don't have any of what they want. I ask you, who in all the world makes pickle ice cream? We don't have pickles anymore down here. At least not until the hydroponics harvest. Then we'll have loads." She held his hand as she spoke to him and pretended he could hear her.
"Jean has been...no, I won't go into it. You don't need to hear me whine about my problems with Jean. Though it does remind me of a funny story. Scott came to my office a few days ago and wanted to borrow my kama sutra book. Can you believe it? I had to work so hard not to laugh. He could tell though. He can always tell. So he started laughing and we just cracked up about it for a few minutes before I gave him the book. It's so good to laugh. Everything seems so dark these days."
She was silent for a long moment before sighing. "I hate to do this Charles but I have to go back to bed. Theres more paperwork than we thought there would be and I need to do it all. Apparently tomorrow too because people are getting cranky about it." She leaned forward and pressed a soft kiss to his forehead. "I love you." She whispered and started to pull back.
She felt the pressure on her hand then Xavier's breathing changed. She leaned back and looked into his calm blue eyes. "I love you too Donella." He said simply.
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Author's Chapter Notes:
Ok sappy stuff! And some back story on Derek. Hope its not too predictable but it prolly is.
Chapter End Notes:
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